Over the long holiday weekend, police in Estonia have had to respond to an average of 30 domestic violence-related calls per day, and caught 70 drunk drivers on the roads as well, illustrating a darker side to Christmas in Estonia for many.

"The holidays have been busy for the police," Urmas Krull, operational manager of the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), told ERR's radio news. "Domestic violence and alcohol can be highlighted as keywords. From Saturday through Monday, the police have responded to an average of 30 domestic violence incidents per 24 hours. We have caught a total of 70 drunk drivers."

Compared to previous years, he noted, the number of incidents of domestic violence saw a sharp increase this year.

"Last year, the police responded to an average of 25 incidents per day," Krull said. "This year, we saw just over 30 per 24 hours, and alcohol was frequently a key factor.

"People are consuming alcohol, and at some point the situation reaches the point where words are no longer used to solve situations, and people start using their fists, among other things," the PPA official described. "The police will always respond when notified of domestic violence. Generally an investigation is launched, and it typically ends with a punishment."

Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) and former minister of health and labour, Jevgeni Ossinovski expects poverty in Estonia to decrease as an effect of the current government's income tax reform, though the actual impact will become clear only after data is evaluated next year.